


The Gracious Whim Of Fate

by Gryphoness



Category: Maleficent (2014)
Genre: BABIES MAKE EVERYTHING BETTER, Childbirth, Children, F/M, I think?, Like, Marriage, Post-Canon, Reflection, Several years post-canon, Surprise Baby, offscreen, unpopular ship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-23
Updated: 2014-07-23
Packaged: 2018-02-10 03:44:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,556
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2009676
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gryphoness/pseuds/Gryphoness
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Queen Aurora of Two Realms is in labor. Prince Consort Diaval wonders how they got here.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Gracious Whim Of Fate

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone. This is my first fic for Maleficent, and the first I'm posting here. So please try to be nice, for the sake of my mental health. I wrote this for my best friend after we saw Maleficent together. We thought Diaval was cute from his first appearance, and he was adorable with Baby!Aurora. Then he kissed her hand, and Julia and I looked at eachother and went "I ship it!" So this is a ficlet of them, based on this prompt from the OTPPrompts Tumblr:
> 
> "Imagine your OTP seeing their newborn child and crying for joy."
> 
> It takes a while to get there, but that's what happens. 
> 
> I don't own any of these characters. Enjoy!

Diaval sat with his back against the cool stone wall, his head buried in his hands. He had paced for a while, but that hadn't done any help to anyone, and his legs had grown tired. And so he had slumped here against the wall. His guilt ate at him with every second that ticked by, gnawing at the pit of his stomach. That guilt was all he knew. It refused to be ignored. Whenever his mind began to wander, it reared up to chew at his heart again.

How had it ever come to this, he wondered? How had this been allowed to happen? This shouldn't have happened. It wasn't logical, not when he was a simple raven -Human in form, yes, but a raven all the same. And she was.....she was a queen- _The_ Queen of Two Realms. 

Sweet Aurora, Diaval shook his head fondly. Sweet Aurora, clever Aurora. Bright, witty as she was, she had gotten her counselors to agree to their marriage. And it hadn't been easy. It had taken a full year for Diaval to find the gumption to tell the beautiful monarch of his feelings. It took several years after that to get the Royal Advisors to allow Aurora to marry him.

At first, they'd been careful, couching their objections behind the fact that a queen couldn't marry a man not of the nobility. Well, Aurora had dispensed of that quickly, naming Diaval Duke of the Moors and her most-trusted protector.

Then the men had felt free to voice their real reasoning for opposing Diaval's suit- He wasn't human. Many men of the Queen's Guard vividly remembered Diaval from the night of King Stefan's death- A roaring dragon stories high, fire bellowing from his open jaws. After the King and Maleficent had flown out, the army had turned their attention to her ferocious beast. Their swords and arrows left little impact on the monster, but the men had been prepared to keep on until they found a way of slaying it.

That was, until the princess -whom they'd all assumed to be still locked in her enchanted sleep- ran into the room despite the flames. The dragon had stopped its offensive at the sight of her, and the men had prepared to end it. But then the princess had thrown herself in front of the beast, a sword she could barely lift in her hands, and screamed at them to _stop._

Reluctant but obedient, the men had backed away. When their weapons were lowered, the creature had lifted Princess Aurora into its huge paw and flown with her out the window.

Those soldiers had been quite surprised, Diaval chuckled, when Maleficent had changed him back to his human form. The sight of him shifting from a monstrous dragon to a normal-looking young man, holding Aurora close to him, had garnered shouts and cries that Diaval had laughed at for years to come.

Those men were the most intense and vocal of the opposition to Diaval being married to their Queen.

That had not flown well with Aurora.

_"Diaval was protecting his queen, just as you were your king,"_ She had chided them gently, _"Surely you can't hold him at fault for his duty. After all, you brave men attempted to kill both him and my beloved godmother- And I shall not hold that against you, as you were at the behest of my father."_

And that had silenced them quite effectively.

When her advisors persisted, Aurora had reminded them that there being no records of royals consorting with magic beings did not mean they had never happened.

Finally, the men had given up. However, this didn't mean they were gracious about it. The council did everything they could -short of open rebellion- to show their displeasure at Queen Aurora's choice of spouse. For instance, they refused to allow Diaval to be crowned king. The highest title they would give him was His Highness the Prince Consort. As a Highness and not Majesty, Diaval would be on the same level as any children he would give Aurora. 

Diaval hadn't cared what the people wanted to call him. Simply being able to marry Aurora had been quite enough for him. He was no Stefan, marrying into the line for its power. Aurora was his moon and stars, the light of his life. Being her husband was the greatest honor Diaval could ever hope of. 

And as for being the same level as their children......Well, Diaval hadn't worried about that being an issue. He wasn't human, after-all, as the court had so helpfully pointed out, so how could he ever hope to have children when his wife wasn't even of his species?

Well, obviously, it was possible, given Diaval's current predicament. Damn, he felt so _useless!_ Suddenly frustrated by his inability to do anything to help his wife, he slammed his fist against the ground. It smarted something awful, but it distracted him from the looming specter of his own helplessness. 

It felt like ages had passed since this morning. Diaval and Aurora had been eating breakfast with Maleficent in the queen's chambers when Aurora had first started feeling the pains of childbirth. Her ladies-in-waiting had instantly gone into a flurry of activity. Watching them, Diaval had felt distinctly like the eye in a storm, with motion whirling all around him.

Finally, a maid had noticed Diaval there, still standing in shock where they'd left him, and he was summarily dismissed. Thrown out into the hallway like a naughty pup who had peed on the carpet. It was humiliating to begin with, and the frustration of not being able to be with Aurora made it even worse.

He had sat there for what seemed like an eternity or two when he heard the soft creak of a door opening, and light footsteps upon the flagstones.

Diaval jumped to his feet as-if he hadn't been sitting in the same position all day. "Aurora," He breathed, "Is she alright? A-And the child- Is it- Has it-"

"Diaval," Maleficent's voice is low and smooth, as it has always been, but her eyes are glittering in a way Diaval has only seen on two occasions- When she realized Aurora had been woken, and when she placed the flower-crown of the Moors on the girl's head. "Come and see,"

He needed no further invitation.

At first, Diaval couldn't even see the bed for all the chittering ladies circled around it. But after a moment, they noticed him, and as a group, sunk into a curtsy. Murmurs of "Your Highness," floated softly through the air. Diaval paid them no mind. All of his attention was focused on the small figure in the stately bed.

Aurora. His beloved Aurora. Flushed, and sweaty, and trembling, but _there._ Utterly _alive._ She smiled as he approached the bed and raised her hand to his lips. Just as he'd done all those years ago.

"Hello, Aurora," He said softly, drinking her face in with his eyes. 

"Diaval," She sighed happily. Aurora was clearly and understandably exhausted, but her eyes shone. "Come here," She nodded towards the bundle in the crook of her arm, "Say hello to your son," 

He could hear the maids leaving the room quietly as they spoke, but they weren't worth his attention. "I have a son," Diaval whispered, scarcely able to believe it. 

"Yes," Gently, Aurora pulled-back a bit of the blue blanket, and there he was, getting some rest after his big entrance to the world. His little cheeks were flushed, but his skin was porcelain-smooth and indescribably soft to touch. He was here. He was _real._ Their son, their prince. 

"He's so beautiful," Diaval murmured, hardly able to take his eyes of the babe. He felt Aurora's hand press into his cheek, and smiled 

"I'd like to call him Phoenix," She told him, "If that's alright with you," 

"Aurora-" He began, surprised. With all the ruckus Diaval's true, bird nature had caused, she wanted to give their firstborn the name of a bird? It was moving, truly, but he wondered at her boldness. 

"I am the queen, am I not?" She replied sweetly, "I can do as I please," 

Diaval chuckled and dropped a kiss on her forehead, then their son's. 

"Prince Phoenix of Two Realms," He said, "Our Phoenix," The longer he looked at the baby, the more he loved him. Diaval had thought for the longest time that he wouldn't be able to have children. He had resigned himself to it. 

And yet, here was Phoenix. His boy. He was alive, he was healthy, he was beautiful. This child was warm, and real, and bright, and it felt like the entire world had shifted, to revolve around this infant.

It wasn't until he felt Aurora's fingers brush his cheek that Diaval realized he was weeping. He didn't do that often. The first time Diaval could remember crying was when Aurora was under the curse. Of all the times for a stupid bird to figure-out he loved someone, it had to be when that someone was essentially dead. 

He chuckled at the memory and held Aurora's hand against his cheek. 

"I love you," He said sincerely, "My Princess, my Queen." 

She giggled at the name he always called her. 

"I love you, my pretty bird." 


End file.
